


Speed is Distance over Time

by Baptiste



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-31
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-27 16:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1717685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baptiste/pseuds/Baptiste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who runs for fun? Masochists that's who. </p>
<p>An AU in which Jongdae starts jogging and it sucks because he's more of a 'only having to run if he's suddenly the token character in horror films,' kind of guy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Speed is Distance over Time

Kim Jongdae is not a jogger, not really an athlete either. The most exercise he does is walking between bus stops and his destinations. So when Luhan (blessed friend and devil in disguise) suggests he goes running with him, because it’ll be good for him. Of course Jongdae says no, he sees no point in it, being a literature major with a minor in music. Though Luhan manages to convince him that it’ll be good for his cardiovascular system.

‘It’ll expand your diaphragm, airway and lung capacity. Don't you like, _sing_ , or something?’

It'd sound more genuine if it weren't for that fact that Luhan _knows_ he sings and it makes complete and total sense, but that could be the effect of Luhan using big words to sound decently educated.  

It gets Jongdae thinking, what harm could a bit of light running do? He has a pair of running shoes that still fit from high school. So he accepts and tries to remember where he dumped those shoes, forgetting to ask when they were going meet. 

And of course, it was at seven in the morning. With the sun barely peeking out and Jongdae was woken up by a text from Luhan saying that they were to meet at the park near the university campus in 15 minutes. So he had to scramble into some sweat pants that he should had thrown out a few years ago and most importantly his running shoes. Maybe he shouldn't had been binging on _The Walking Dead_ last night instead of studying. But he managed to make it to the meeting spot early as he still hadn't seen Luhan, when an Adonis blessed by Jesus himself stopped at a nearby bench to hitch a foot up to adjust his shoelaces. Obviously the man had just finished a run, earbuds still in as he takes a large gulp from a bottle of water, face glimmering in the early sunlight glimmering like the deity he is.

Jongdae shamelessly stares. Stares a bit more, starts feeling a bit creepy, shifts his face away, eyes still on the guy. Stares. Okay, okay this time he does pull away. When he looked back the guy was adjusting his shirt, flapping it to reveal-- Sweet holy mother of baby David Bowie, a lovely hint of lower abdomen. He tries to hold back the choked sound that tries to come out of his throat. The jogger ran off happily. Jongdae is out of breath, and he hadn’t even started running yet. Moments later Luhan jogged up to him. Asking if he was ready to jog.

It turns out he was not. Because Luhan expected Jongdae to keep up at his set level pace, making a comment for him to keep up whenever he noticed him slowing down. Obviously someone who was new to the art of jogging would not be on the same level as the guy who has been regularly running for years now and was Captain of the soccer club. By the end of it, he had the gait reminiscent of Bambi. Jongdae was drowning in his sweat while Luhan looked like he just stepped into a photoshoot, with only a light cursory sheen to his skin making it look dewy and fresh. While Jongdae probably looked like he was homeless and probably smelled it too.

“Wow! How’s that for a light run? Same time tomorrow?” He says too happy for a guy who decided the two of them should run the entirety of the trail that encircled the university.

Luhan had to help him to his dorm room before running off for his own early morning classes. Jondae considered skipping his classes to instead lay face first on his bed where Luhan dumped him, but it was a hard class that actually needed Jongdae's presence, so he drags himself to the shower and after dresses himself with the least amount of effort before laboriously making his way to the classroom that happened to be on the top floor of the school building.  

“Holy shit, what happened to you?” When he sat down in a seat next to Minseok. Why didn't he run with Luhan since they were after all in the same soccer club?  

“I saw a god today.” 

“Is that why you look like someone continuously ran you over with their car?”

“Naw, I went running with Luhan this morning.” A pained look spread on Minseok’s face, a hiss coming from him.

“You’ll be dead by the end of the week if you even last that long.”

Just as he was about to witty comment back, the professor walks in and the room goes quiet as he immediately goes into the course work.

Jongdae almost forgets the fact that he had to keep up with woodland creature Luhan with legs like a cheetah, when he rises from his seat only to stumble back down as his legs still had the consistency of jello.  

But Minseok is a great guy and took pity on his friend and helped him to his dorm room, and with a repeat of his morning he was dumped onto his bed, because Minseok had another class and wanted to get something to eat before.

Jongdae remained in that position even when Yixing comes back for a change of clothes and heads back out for dance practice.

-

“Hey.”

A grunt come from the lump that is Kim Jongdae. He tries to only shift his face with the least amount of effort to see who addressed him. It was Yixing. Hands on knees looking down at Jongdae, a bit sweaty and dressed in sweats. When did he get in?

“Mmph.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t quite understand your accent.” Funny man, Zhang Yixing. “I’m going for dinner after I shower, you wanna come?” But he’s the best roommate anyone could ask for, such nice, much polite.

He replies yes, or something that probably sounded like one.

"Ymerp." But Yixing understands the language that is Kim Jongdae it seems, as he smiles down at Jongdae’s prone body and takes a towel into the bathroom.

Now onto the task of moving.  

-

“Oh my god, a man should not look that good while dripping in sweat. Like, this guy started way before us and we met at seven in the morning. Have I mentioned that Luhan is incredibly evil under that woodland creature facade?” Digging into the dinner of noodles they've decided on.

“Mmhhm. So is this going to be a regular thing?” Yixing was kind of listening to the conversation. He got the basic gist from the first few sentences, but was mostly interested in his noodle soup. 

“Oh, you bet your pretty face it is.” Jongdae says this with the utmost confidence, well as much as he can muster as he begins to cough around a noodle that wanted to go out his nose instead of down.

“I also happen to have a sparkling personality.” Ignoring Jongdae's fight against the wild noodle, instead choosing to sip at his soup. "Ah."

-

Not that Jongdae was creepy, but he was. Coming to meet Luhan at the park, just a bit early so he can sneak glances at the god of a man, who he has dubbed with various names belonging to a variety of gods.

He’s not creepy he swears when he first tells Yixing about him instead of catching up on his readings. Jongdae knows stuff about the jogger.

“But not a name.” Yixing comments. Whoa, whoa, whoa there, I don’t know what they do there over in Changsha but here in Seoul we like to take things slow.

He’s been at this jogging thing for a month now. Five times a week in the morning, excluding weekends. And Jongdae has learned that mystery jogger probably doesn’t run on weekends (because weekends are made for fun plus Jongdae doesn’t like the guy enough to run on weekends), enjoys the under armour, is utterly fucking gorgeous, is both the perfect height, punctual, and has legs that look like they were sculpted by Bernini. You know, the small things.

But eventually midterms roll around and Luhan and Jongdae have to substitute their jogging dates for actual sleep. And he rarely has time to think about godly jogger when he’s rushing to properly cite his papers and studying and fitting in emergency cram sessions.  

When he’s done, at least until finals, Jongdae spends his first free day catching up on a week’s worth of sleep.

Luhan says that he’s still busy with soccer club as they have a match soon with competing universities and suggests that Jongdae continue running because he doesn’t look as bad as when their first time and he doesn’t have to yell at him as much to keep up.

For a week, without having someone enforcing him to run, he easily falls back into the rut he had before he started running. That is, being able to wake up at a time that everyone else wakes up at. But he dreams of dark hair and beautiful eyes that remind him of slow ballads in the winter time. Plus he’s been pigging out lately with delivery food, so might as well.

He resumes, waking up at seven to throw on the sweats with the worn hems and his grody running shoes. Looking down at them as he tightens them from where he was crouched down on the still dew damp sidewalk, if he was doing this running thing for legits he should get some new shoes. As he’s deep in thought about where his mom bought usually buys his shoes, Jongdae doesn’t notice the man walking up to him, until his shadow covers up those very shoes. Looking up, he tightens his hands in his laces very effectively cutting off circulation to his feet.

It’s The Jogger. Looking down on him like the god he is.

“Hey!” An easy smile on the guy’s face, said face is shiny with sweat, because he’s probably done his run, but Jongdae knows this for sure from weeks of carefully taken mental notes.

Hoping he doesn’t look too weird, what with the wide eyes and Jongdae is totally caught unawares, because nameless, hot jogger is talking to him. Smiling at him. Jongdae almost has a heart attack from that smile. Standing straight up, he flounders a bit, mouth opening and closing before he his thoughts catch up with his mouth and words flow the best they can.

“Uh, hey! There.” The greeting coming out loud and pitched.

“You run this track too! Uh sorry, that sounded creepy.” Looking sheepish, as a hand rubs at the back of his neck. Oh you don’t know creepy like Jongdae knows creepy. “I’ve seen you running sometimes, with your friend?”

“Yea, I’ve seen you around too.” Everytime. “Just me now though, as you can see.” Arms wave around him, forcing out a nervous laugh. “He got busy.”

“If you want, we could run together if you don’t mind? I mean, if-- If you’re okay with starting a bit earlier, but it’s a offer, it’s not like we know each that well, or at all. Um, I’m Kim Joonmyun by the way!” Introducing himself, popping his hand out between them.

And the guy is flustered. A soft blush blessing his face. Bless his face.

“A-ah yea! That’d be great! Nice to meet you!” He hopes he doesn’t sound too eager as he takes his hand. ‘And thank you for putting a name to your glorious face,’ he thinks. “I’m Jongdae.”

“When do you want to meet?”

-

Six in the fucking morning that’s when he wants to meet. It’s worse than when he was running with Luhan, because at least the sun was out and there were signs of life up and about. Jongdae never wakes up this early. Joonmyun says with that glorious smile that he has early classes and apologizes. That Jongdae didn't really have to come. Except he does. He really does. Replying instead that it's no bother at all, that he has early classes anyways. 

Only on Tuesdays, but he doesn't know his schedule.

-

The first time the two run together, Joonmyun is careful to keep the pace that Jongdae has set, they talk easy and casual and by the end of it Jongdae doesn't feel as tired as he thought he would be. Joonmyun makes him feel giddy as if the man's presence is like a caffeine hit or maybe he was finally getting used to running the long distances. 

"Oh, I realized that you don't have my number." Joonmyun comments as they were about to part ways, taking Jongdae's hand in his and flipping it over to take a pen that he somehow had in those fitted shorts of his, to write a number on Jongdae's inner wrist. The sensation tickles, distracting him from the fact that Kim Jongdae now had in his possession, Kim Joonmyun's phone number. And he didn't even have to sputter in embarrassment for it either. Smiling, he tells Jongdae to text him later as he runs off. Jongdae doesn't know how long he stands there looking at the number, probably until he has it memorized on the insides of his brains or maybe when he realizes that he has class.

\-   

“Ugh I’m tired from looking at you.”

Minseok comments when he looks over at Jongdae after he takes a seat beside him and immediately flinches back. “Ugh, have you heard of a shower? Deodorant?” Facing his body away, pulling the neck of his sweater over the lower half of his face. Jongdae didn’t have time go back his room to change and shower after his shower and having to rush to class as is. He had to admit he was kinda disgusting because even the few people sitting in front of him were beginning to cough and gag.

But he feels his phone vibrate and sees a reply from Joonmyun after texting him a simple:  _yoyoyo is this late enough for you?_

_Hahaha perfect timing. Hope you had a good run! See you tomorrow!!! :))))_

  
“After class.” He doesn't try to even hide his smile, even when Minseok looks over in confusion and the other students think that he's smiling at the pain he's causing. 

 

 


End file.
